A Series Of Unfortunate Events
by CookieDoughPony
Summary: Re-edited a bit. Arthur's part of the RAF and Gwen is one of his best friends. But fate decides to change that and with the help of Arthur's habit of getting into mishaps, love will surely appear in the most unlikely of places...
1. 1

Gwen placed a fresh pile of towels into the cupboard in Lady Morgana's room, sighing as she did so. It was her last pile of washing and all she really wanted to do was go home and have a cup of tea whilst watching a movie. That particular movie was her favourite one, _P.S I Love You_. She thought it was so sad when Gerry died and Holly was left in a big wide world not sure how to cope with his loss. She kind of felt that way, but for her entire family. Her mother died when she was two, her father just recently, having been shot in an overnight attack to the Castle. He was, or used to be a security guard and died in Gwen's arms, amidst a crowd of onlookers. He was shot by a robber who had since been jailed for life. Her brother had thought her was not needed in her live when their parents were dead and had left a fair while ago with only haunting memories of their childhood to remind her. Now there was just Gwen. She pushed back her brown hair impatiently with her hand, which was bleeding from the piece of glass that she had discovered was protruding from a noble's shirt. It was stinging but Gwen ignored it as she usually did with any pain and walked smoothly out of the door, crashing into Morgana, as she usually did.

"Gwen! What have you done?" she proclaimed as she caught sight of the blood trickling down her friend's caramel coloured hand. Gwen smiled grimly

"A piece of glass from Lord Johnson's evening shirt" she said scathingly, pulling out the small shard of glass and wiping the excess blood on her other hand. Morgana grimaced and looked at Gwen, realizing how tired she looked.

"Going to go home?" she asked. Gwen nodded  
>"If that's okay with you" Morgana smiled her charming smile before placing a hand on Gwen's shoulder<p>

"It's fine, just remember that there won't be any chance that your kettle's going to ignite again after Merlin fixed it" she said, winking at the now smiling Gwen. Merlin was the Prince's friend and helper. He had helped Gwen fix her kettle after it had nearly burnt down her house, only the reason it didn't give any permanent damage was due to the fact the quick thinking Morgana was there and she instantly smothered it with water. Gwen laughed as Morgana winked as they recalled the moment. They both knew Merlin's amazing secret that was a little amazing, if shocking in times like the 21st century. Merlin had a secret that he had contained from her, Morgana and Arthur, who were brother and sister, and that secret was that he had magic. He could do incredible things with it, but had made sure that no-one knew apart from his three closest friends, worrying that if anyone saw him he would be put in Camelot Zoo, which Arthur promised he wouldn't unless he really agitated the hot-headed Prince.

Turning out of the doorway Gwen walked down the impressive marble hallway, staring at the granite floor with interest. She hadn't noticed it until now, but there was amazing shapes in the pattern it beheld. She noticed a Horse, Dragon, Stoat and her own feet and was so mesmerized, she almost fell over before someone brought her to her senses.

"Gwen!" called a voice from across the other side of the corridor. Looking up, she saw the familiar face of Arthur Pendragon. "Do you know where Merlin is? He's supposed to be helping me finish something and he's no-where around. Seen him anywhere?" he asked her. It took Gwen a dizzying moment to realize what he had just said and she shook her head

"No, sorry, I think he might have gone to town, sorry sire" she replied, her wide brown eyes fixated on the Prince. Arthur belonged to the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and was currently under great deal of stress to finish a project that could help them win the Afghanistan war. Added to this he was expected to know how to assemble and unassembled a machine gun, and know the clockwork patterns of the Eurofighters Harriers and Tornado's all within a week. So it was a little bit hectic for him at the moment. He looked annoyed as she said this and she shook herself out of her revive

"Sorry, sire"

"No worries, Gwen… and please call me Arthur" he complained, sounding like Gwen's brother when he was young. She smiled sadly at that thought

"Okay Arthur" she said to him, waving her hand in a kind of mock salute. Giving her a grin, he disappeared, placing his hat on his head in the direction of the Council Room. Gwen leant against the wall and sighed deeply She really had to stop doing that… she was his friend after all and staring at your friend was not a good thing. It could look suspicious. When they were firm friends, he had shoved her in the stables muck heap, consequently making her smell of horse manure, something neither she nor Arthur minded, but Merlin, Morgana, Uther and the rest of the kingdom bar stable hands did. In retaliation; she had pushed him into the port that lay beside the castle. Now, as she shook herself into reality, blinked three times to clear her eyes and walking down the steps towards her home, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

><p>"So let's get this straight" Morgana echoed, her smooth skin creasing into a frown as she sat opposite Gwen in the vast living room of her home, hands wrapped lightly around a mug of tea so strong that a spoon would stand up in it. She thought for a second before lifting her gaze from the cat that was currently stretched out on the floor to Gwen's face "You want to know why you can't stand being around Arthur?" she asked and Gwen nodded embarrassedly. It sounded like a ridiculous question, but seeming as Morgana and Arthur were siblings, she might know. The girl shrugged her shoulders gently<p>

"I actually have no clue, Gwen" she admitted, sipping her tea "Why did you want to know?" she queried and Gwen blushed deeply

"Well…I don't know!" she said, placing her tea on the sidetable so that she wouldn't spill it all over the animal that was now lying ramrod straight like a plank of wood, claws flexing in and out in the carpet. Gwen held a hand up to her head and gently rubbed her nose to think of another answer. She remembered the previous events and looked up at Morgana who was currently in the middle of scratching the cats' fluffy stomach and cooing gently "It's kind of like I can't stand being around him in a good way" she said a little uselessly "Like…like I'm worried of messing up in front of him" she added, making a face and picking up her tea again

"Messing up? Gwen, you always mess up when your with Arthur" Morgana joked and Gwen laughed

"I never knew that" she said and the raven haired girl sat opposite nodded

"Every time I've seen you two together, your either covered in horse manure, water, mud, grass stains or, on one or two occasions, honey"

"He poured treacle over my head when I was cooking" Gwen objected and Morgana giggled

"So you retaliated?"

"I got a spoon and threw it at his face" she mused and Morgana laughed loudly

"No, let me guess, you then smothered it everywhere with a fork?"

"Hands actually, they make a useful smotherer" Gwen said seriously and Morgana laughed harder, causing blobs of tea to fall onto the now rather disgruntled cat who got up and stalked away, tail stiff like a bottle brush.

"I will never understand you" Morgana gasped, taking a deep breath and drinking some more of the cooling tea before calming down. Gwen fixed Morgana with a serious expression

"Seriously though, I really am worried about it. And recently its like I'm embarrassed even to see him, like someone's going to judge me and he's going to believe it" she explained and Morgana looked thoughtful for a while before it dawned on her

"I think I've got it!" she said cheerfully and Gwen raised an eyebrow

"What is it then?" she asked and Morgana made a zipping motion with her lips

"Not telling" she said and Gwen placed her hands on her hips

"It'll be the tickling if your not careful" she said like a mother hen and Morgana squealed even at the thought

"Oh all right" she said, fixing a sly grin to her elfish features "I think you might be besotted with my brother" she said and Gwen looked confused

"I'm not as good at English as you are, Morgana. I came from the country" she said, elaborating with her hands. Her friend sighed and rolled her eyes

"I think" she said slowly "That you might like Arthur" she said and Gwen looked worried.

* * *

><p><strong>An If your worrying that it's going to change drastically, don't worry. It's just I read it and thought how bad some of the parts were so I'm going over them and editing where I think it could be improved….it will stay on, but will be updated in chunks every so often when I've run over them :) If you don't like the new version….very sorry x**

**Cookies x**


	2. 2

"Your joking" she said quietly and Morgana looked taken aback  
>"Hey, it's you who has the problem, not me!" she said, holding her hands up in the air. She narrowly missed a book that came flying her way.<p>

"I do not have a problem!" Gwen insisted and Morgana shrugged again before tipping her mug up to her lips and downing the rest of the drink

"Well" she said, after placing it on the floor next to her feet "All of the things are right. I mean, it says in my magazines that the first signs are embarrassment around the person you like, afraid of messing up in front of them" she stated matter-of-factly and Gwen looked incredulous

"You don't seriously read that crap?" she asked and Morgana looked hurt

"It's very informative" she objected before grinning "And it's useful too! It seems you do like Arthur" she said gleefully and Gwen looked worried again

"Now what am I going to do?" she muttered and placed her head in one of her hands, reaching down to her toes with the others and running her fingers over the clear nails.

"Talk to him" Morgana said, pushing herself up and collecting Gwen's mug "Want another cuppa?" she asked and Gwen looked up

"Yes please, and what do you mean, talk to him?" she asked and Morgana cocked her head to the side

"If you don't want you're fancy for him to become obvious then you have to act normal around him or it will become apparent, and believe me, Arthur can notice these things" she said, waving the mug in the air, her eyes wide and a smile on her face. Gwen laughed again

"You know you look like a Smurf when you do that?" she asked and Morgana glowered

"That's a nice resemblance" she murmured and Gwen grinned

"I like Smurfs!" she said "Smurfs are amazing!" she told Morgana whose face brightened up and she skipped away into the kitchen again.

* * *

><p>Arthur was furious as he threw his uniform on in front of the long mirror, the sky outside matching his mood, dark, annoyed and angry. He ran a hand through his hair and searched his room for the object he needed before shoving it inside his jacket and striding out of the door. Merlin, as usual wasn't around and had said to Arthur that he would be there in time, although, judging by the empty corridors, he would be at least three minutes behind schedule, something Uther would never allow Arthur to do. Merlin had a knack for turning up and disappearing at the most inconvenient times and on occasion, nearly killing himself whilst they were target shooting by firing at Merlin as he popped up in front of him just as Arthur had pulled the trigger, the bullet missing Merlin's forehead by an inch. Striding out of the door he made his way along the marble lined corridor and down to the Council Room. He was searching for his friend as he went, swearing and ranting so violently that he thanked god no-one could hear him, his temper overboiling for many reasons. One was the weather, having a miserable day in turn made Arthur annoyed and prone to snapping his tether. The second was the meeting, something which he had to attend due to the fact he was part of it, being the head of the Royal Guards and the third was just the fact that he wasn't allowed to spend time with his friends as much as he liked, being forced to work on plans, documents, take care of important matters, and other things which Arthur would gladly swap for a day with Merlin, Morgana, who was also like a friend, and Gwen. Turning the corner he saw a familiar figure and he felt himself stiffen up with nerves. He had never felt this way around Gwen before. Never, it had only occurred recently. He looked at her more intently and his eyes glazed over slightly. It was a particularly nice feeling to have really; it spread throughout his body and took hold of him, making his feel a little bit unhinged.<p>

"Gwen!" he called, somewhat nervously, although he tried to force it out of his voice and sound a bit more Arthur-like really. Gwen looked up suddenly with shock, her brown eyes suddenly becoming wide. "Do you know where Merlin is? He's supposed to be helping me finish something. Seen him anywhere?" he carried on, an odd feeling twisting in his gut.

"No, sorry, I think he might have gone to town, sorry sire" stammered Gwen, her eyes shining in the sunlight. Arthur sighed inwardly, wearing an annoyed expression "Sorry, sire" Gwen apologized, staring intently at him. Arthur looked up, his eyes full of emotions that he couldn't fathom.

"No worries, Gwen… and please call me Arthur" he said, making his voice sound like he was complaining. He really didn't like being called that by his friends. Why, it was only this morning that Merlin had uttered that despicable phrase and Arthur had glared at him. Morgana seemed the only one that didn't say it. Which was useful and it helped that he was her sister.

"Okay, Arthur" she said cheekily, a tone of cheerfulness edging into her voice as she smiled at him. He grinned at her, the way her smile lit up her face was just something that you couldn't help but grin at, being one of those things. She gave him a kind of salute before he turned away and disappeared, wrenching his eyes off Gwen, as if trying to get a glued up hand off another glued up hand… not that he had tried it at any point in his life. Well. Maybe once. He placed his hat on his head and walked off towards the Meeting Hall. He didn't notice the wistful look that came into Gwen's eyes when she saw him; he was too busy hooked up in his own overwhelming emotions about how to handle the current situation.

He shook these thoughts out of his head as he walked through the big door to the Meeting Room

* * *

><p>It was an impressive place to be truthful. A huge, elaborate room decorated with centuries of war items, including photo's of the Pendragon's ancestry lining the walls showing the regiments. The earliest one was Uther's Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather, King George the second, his curly hair looking rather comical with his serious, but beautiful uniform, glaring down at the occupants of the room with greedy eyes as if he was picking the next victim out to die at the hand of the elegant sword in his hand that looked almost 3D, a thin strip of gold running up the middle carved with beautiful words. He took his usual place next to the King, or his father and waited for it to start. He was going to be involved seeming as the head of the RAF of Great Britain was present, including the Head of the Navy and Army and many other ambassadors to help negotiate peace terms. It was a stressful time for them, especially the Army who were fighting the horrendous war on the front line. He let his mind drift off to thoughts of Gwen and he at once became at ease within the hustle and bustle of the room that it was hard to keep his eyes open, and glancing at the clock, he realized that it still wasn't time to start so Arthur placed his head in his hands and mused about life. He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until his father was shaking him roughly by the shoulder<p>

"Arthur!" he said in a voice so loud it could probably send buildings tumbling to the ground "Arthur wake up!" he exclaimed, and opening his blue eyes quickly and sitting up with a jolt, he realized that everyone had arrived that needed to be here and that many of them were staring at the once sleeping Prince. He shook himself out of his state sharply and stared intently at the middle of the room to hide his intense embarrassment. No-one dared to laugh at the Prince for fear of his unpredictable temper, that, as everyone knew, was not on cool mode at the moment. Anything could set it off at any moment, anything or anyone. The person that really set it off was his father generally, and these occurrences were becoming rather frequent when the two Pendragon's were in the room together at one time. He didn't care much for what Arthur thought about anything, all he cared about was this damned fighting, which Arthur understood but the only thing he and his father could agree on was tactics of war. He sighed and prepared for about a three hour long talk and settled his heads back into his hands again, making sure that there was enough to focus on should he be tempted to fall asleep again and listened. There was one big talk every Friday in Camelot and Arthur dreaded them as much as he adored them. But his father did go on and it usually ended in an argument with him and a foreign ambassador, or even Arthur himself. He didn't know how things would change.

"And that is why I think we should take this part of the Navy and plant it over to the south a bit" Uther concluded, shuffling his papers and looking like he meant business. Arthur gazed around the room and suddenly settled his eyes on the ambassador from a country that even he hadn't heard of. He was nervously glancing in three different directions, to three more countries that Arthur didn't have a clue about either, his eyes following the same pattern whilst his hands were firmly occupied underneath the table. The two men either side of him, ambassadors from the USA and Russia didn't seem to realize what was happening, and by the looks of it, as Arthur sat up in his chair, scanning the room , neither did any one else. Arthur followed the four men's movements and realized that they were all occupied by something underneath the table, and blocking out the sounds of his father's voice, he could distinctly hear the clicking sound as something was reloaded. A pair of wide blue eyes were sent around the room again as he realized what was happening. He saw the four men all glance at each other before the one Arthur had noticed first nodded; and they all stood up, hands down, hidden by jackets too long for them.

Uther stopped suddenly, realizing the figures. It was custom in the meeting that if you wanted to speak, you raised your hand, tapped the desk or stood up, and Uther clearly thought they all wanted to ask a question.

"Yes?" he asked and the man just stared blankly at Uther before he nodded abruptly and Arthur threw himself over his father, forcing him downwards underneath the thick oak desk. There was the sound of petrified screaming as numerous gunshots were fired, the sound of the ricocheting off the walls echoing in Arthur's ears as it suddenly grew silent apart from the soft gurgling sounds as people suffocated in their own blood. Underneath the table, Arthur reached inside his jacket and pulled out his pistol, thanking himself that he had reloaded it back in his room before listening intently. There was the sound of someone firing and then the shout

"ONE!" which told Arthur that someone had got a direct hit. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his father who was looking sternly at him

"Don't you dare!" he hissed angrily and Arthur looked at him

"I can't leave them to die!" he bit back and Uther glared at him

"You are the Prince the future King! You're worth nothing dead!" he said and Arthur rolled his eyes

"Father. If I don't participate then I will feel guilty. Think of the poor United States and Russian ambassadors, if I don't avenge their deaths then I will get blamed" he whispered sadly and Uther shook his head

"What make you think-"

"You have ten seconds, young Prince. Before we kill the Welsh ambassador" said a voice and Arthur inhaled sharply at the gravelly sound, thick and dark with the hint of smugness in it. Arthur looked at his father who was thunderous before he pushed himself up and took a wild shot at the direction in front of him, thankfully meeting his target and sending both the Welsh ambassador and attacker to the ground, the ambassador still alive thankfully. He ducked back underneath before shouting

"TWO!" to tell the other's that the second man was down. There was another gunshot and a soft moan before another man spoke up

"You have just lost the Australian ambassador" said a gentle but irritated voice "And if Arthur Pendragon will not stand up to us then we will personally go through the castle and this room and kill everyone until he finally agrees to speak to us" he said and Arthur looked at his father who was mouthing the words "NO" to him silently. Wincing slightly, Arthur called out;

"What do you want?"

The man who had spoken snorted softly

"I have come to get my avenge on the son that I used to have" he said tartly and Arthur looked outraged

"Your son tried to assassinate me by shooting when my back was turned!" he shouted but ploughed on "I classed him as a friend, but he did a dishounorable thing and shot at a man when their back was turned. I did the only rational thought and shot back, but he unfortunately lost his life" he said angrily and their was laughter from behind him and his father

"My son did nothing to hurt you! You killed him wrongly, and if you don't give yourself up now then I will keep to my word and kill everyone in this room and castle!" he yelled back and there was a gentle snort again "Which one, Pendragon? Do you want to have everyone in here think you are a coward and cruel for not saving them? Or do you want to be a man and stand up to me. The last surviving one out of my comrades?" he asked. Arthur closed his eyes briefly, thinking of everyone he could ever remember and knew that it would be spiteful to have them killed. He didn't know that everyone in the room was silently crossing their fingers that he didn't give himself up and whispering words of praise to god to protect the young Prince, should he do such a selfless thing. Opening his blue eyes again that were curiously moist, Arthur reloaded his weapon before he took a deep breath, and silently, like a cat, appeared above the desk and fired at exactly the same time as the African ambassador who fired at the second remaining man. There were, however, three shots fired off. Arthur's intended target hit the floor and lay in a bloodied heap on the ground, as did the African ambassadors whose eyes rolled back in his skull as he toppled over onto his desk with a nasty crack. Both the ambassador and Arthur shouted together the fact that both men had gone down when Arthur wondered where the last bullet had gone. Everyone apart from the Russian, American and Australian ambassadors who had been mercilessly slaughtered by the assassins, stood up in relief, hair tousled, faces pale and white but cheerful smiles on their faces. Arthur suddenly felt a warm patch growing in his stomach, and an incredibly sharp pain circulating through his muscles as he stood there. He dropped his weapon to the floor abruptly, his legs following suite until he was on all four and opening his jacket to reveal a large, scarlet stain. The last thing he could remember was his father hurriedly forcing him so he was on his back and the concerned faces of everyone as they swarmed to look at him before he greeted the darkness like an old friend.

* * *

><p><strong>An Okaaaaay! I'm a bit cruel with this one because I changed it completely. But I prefer this to the previous one :) The next chapters will we altered quite a bit but I think the last ones should be alright for the time being, and the RAF flight thing will stay with minor changes hopefully! I'm very sorry to you American's, Australians and Russians! I'm not specifically targeting you! But you guys just popped into my head!**

**Apologies again for grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, and if a girl suddenley becomes a "he" and a boy becomes a "she". That just sucks.**

**Have a virtual piece of Ben&Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream as a reward because I love you so damn much.**

**Cookies x**


	3. 3

Gwen and Morgana had fallen asleep on the sofa watching _P.S I Love You_ again, mugs of stone cold Cocoa in their hands, the fire gently chugging away in tune with the cat that had yet again, stretched out in front of it, eyes closed and claws kneading the carpet in contented delight.  
>It was thanks to the loud and upset hammering on the door and voice of their friend that woke them up with a start. It was the voice of Merlin and as Gwen threw open the front door she realized how worried and concerned he looked<p>

"Gwen! Morgana!" he cried in desperation as he hugged her, his arms trembling

"Merlin!" Gwen exclaimed in amazement. He was never usually like this, usually happy and cheerful, even in the worst times that once included Morgana's uncle dying "What's the matter?" she queried. Morgana came up behind Gwen and looked at the boy with interest

"Pet leech die?" she asked jokingly, an but when she saw how apprehensive he looked, she immediately sobered up her facial expression "What happened?" she asked quickly, her emerald eyes wide and shimmering in the moonlight that was casting the young man's face into a shadow. Morgana peered out of the door over Gwen's shoulder "And where's Arthur?" she added, her heart racing. Arthur, wherever Merlin went, was with him, or usually the other way around.

"Arthur's been shot, he's in the Council Room" he whispered. The two pairs of eyes that were staring at him suddenly widened and were flooded with concern and worry. There wasn't a chance that they were going to invite him in to talk about it, and before Merlin knew it, Gwen was off running up the street, her hair streaming out behind her in a long ponytail. She was quickly followed by Morgana and Merlin who were trying to keep up with her.

It seemed fear gave you extra speed along with the advantage of Converses, and before Gwen knew it she was rushing up the corridors, searching for the Council Room amidst the labyrinth of rooms and hallways shimmering in the soft light cast by bulbs, knowing it well for her temporary status of maid. Pushing open the double glass doors with great force as she got there, she knew immediately where Arthur was as he was surrounded by over thirty different people, varying in height and gender, all collected around the head of the room slightly to the left. As he looked around, seven people littered the floor, three of them, she noticed, were the Australian, American and Russian ambassadors, their eyes rolled backwards, blood pooling from various positions, one in the throat, one in the head and one in the heart. Four of them were not, and they were all dead too, thankfully, having all been shot directly in the heart, their formal suits stained a dark red in the left side of their chests. Dragging her sickened gaze away, she pushed her way through the distressed people she reached the Prince, King and Physician who was trying to clean him up. She reeled back slightly at the sight of the bullet wound that was oozing an alarming amount of life fluid, but knelt down anyway, the knees of her jeans being coated in Arthur's still warm blood. Uther was comforted by the sight of the girl and her male friend, Merlin who had just arrived, and at ease finally as he saw the slim figure of Morgana gently making her way through the men and women who obliged and stepped back to allow the younger Pendragon sibling through to her brother. Gwen, who was currently looking at Arthur, lifted her gaze slightly to meet the Kings, who looked concerned, fretful, worried and scared all at the same time, his hand continually flexing and unflexing with agitation.

"How did it happen, Sire?" she asked with great formality and gentleness. She may call Arthur by his name, but Uther was still the King and deserved the utmost respect. He shook his head and his eyes watered slightly as his throat closed up so Gaius answered for him whilst Uther roughly brushed his cheeks.

"He was shot by someone who is now dead over there by the door. They were here to avenge one of the men's son's death, who Arthur killed unintentionally I guess" he said quietly whilst placing more towels over Arthur's bullet wound. "It's a bit weird that it missed his heart, but there you go fate's like that." Gwen nodded tightly and pressed her two slender fingers to Arthur's neck. It was cold but there was still a gentle pulse underneath her fingertips. She suspected the reason he had fell unconscious was due to the fact if was so close to his heart, seeming as it was literally about five inches away. She gently squeezed his cool hand as Merlin and Morgana watched over worriedly to see whether their friend and the future King would live. Morgana had since gone over to her father and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders comfortingly in only a way a daughter could whilst he cried gently. Gaius had managed to stem the flow within ten minutes and confirmed that the bullet had seemed to have gone straight through his body, and searching around for a bit, they found the badger lying a little way away. It was quite heavy and the point was awfully sharp, being able to rip through human skin easily. It must have fallen to the floor whilst being muffled by the commotion in the room as everyone rustled papers and got up from the floor before Arthur finally realized he had been shot. There was a lot of murmuring before they slowly were filed out of the room. Gaius made sure that Arthur was completely safe from another blood flow by wrapping the Prince's jacket around the scarlet towels before ushering in two burly guards to take Arthur to his quarters, closely followed by himself, the King and his daughter and her two closest friends, all worrying over the state of the future heir to the throne of Camelot.

* * *

><p>As soon as everyone, minus Gwen, Merlin and Morgana left Arthur's room they fell silent, watching over the near dead Prince. Gwen felt like crying but she held her tears inside of her as she sat on the chair that was beside his bed with her head rested in her hands, her elbows balanced on her red knees.<p>

Merlin mimed quietly to Morgana that they needed to go get items to attend to Arthur when he woke up before walking towards the door, Morgana following Merlin so that Gwen was left alone in the room with only the sound of the rain on the balcony to muffle the sounds of her heart that was currently acting overdrive from the recent occurrences. As soon as the door had been shut, glistening tears started to drip down her face and onto her hands, cold and unnatural, making Gwen feel rather ashamed of herself seeming as the last time she had cried was when her father had died. Brushing them away impatiently she looked intently at Arthur, who apart from the fact that he had just been shot and was unconscious, looked rather relaxed. Gwen realized that his chest was moving up and down regularly, which was a sign that he had drifted into conscious sleep now, his fingers twitching every so often, almost to tell Gwen that he was fine. She resisted the urge to wake him up because he looked so tranquil as he slept, it seemed rather rude, so contemplated him instead without the embarrassment of being caught this time.

She sighed deeply and placed a hand on his forehead to be greeted by a raging fever that was almost scalding to the touch, making her withdraw her hand abruptly. She was worried for him, but knew, with a certain pint of reassurance, that he would pull through eventually and, settling backwards in the chair, she gazed out of the window at the images that were slightly distorted from the water sluicing down them, pooling on the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. Arthur's favourite place to stand on wet and dry days. But especially dry, she found out, because he wasn't really a rain person, whereas she was the total opposite, and seemed to thrive in days where the thunder was flying across the sky in great sheets, the lighting buzzing with electricity, breaking up the sky in its anger, illuminating trees and homes alike. She loved the feeling of freedom when she stood outside in the garden of her house, the raindrops sliding down her face gently, followed by another that occasionally cooled her muscles that would be aching from the strenuous work she did whenever she could, which would include exercising her horse, Splash, mucking him out, and then somehow getting herself into doing the other eighteen in the stableblock, refilling the waters in the field and loose-boxes, and then up to the castle to do the odd job around here and there. It was relaxing the way that the rain splashed continuously on the window panes, making Gwen's dark eyes close ever so slightly, by a fraction of a centimeter every minute until they completely shut, sending the girl into a land of her own where she could be at peace with the world.

* * *

><p>Arthur ached badly as he woke up, greeted by darkness and the unmistakable sound of rain against stone and glass, which told him that it was raining outside. He could remember everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours, and immediately knew what he was going to do when he wasn't so knackered from the shooting scene, which was to write his condolences to the family's of the ambassador's who were fatally shot in the attempted assassination of him, and honouring them for not giving him up. His eyes softened slightly as he remembered their faces, the Australian always cracking jokes, his thick accent making it twice as hysterical, the Russian, always treating him and Morgana to small trinkets from his homeland. And one time, a whole bottle of Russian Vodka which he, Morgana, Gwen, Merlin and Gwaine downed within a whole night and got utterly hammered with Arthur waking up with one of the worst cases of the morning after the night before, Morgana with a terrible attitude, Merlin throwing up everywhere, Gwaine looking cheerful and Gwen just, well. Not even waking up and sleeping until a whole week later, which caused much worry amongst the four friends. And then the American one, who he had known personally, seeming as he was a distant relative of Leon, who often invited him, his father and Morgana over to the USA to spend a week there. It often ended with just him and his sister, and they occasionally visited Disneyworld, despite the fact they were at least twenty five in age and they both got stared at a lot because of their statuses in England.<p>

He sighed deeply and switched his attention back to the rain which was increasing in decibels and moved over to his right to be greeted by a sound-asleep Gwen. He smiled gently, not being able to see her features that well in the lack of light and closed his eyes again, attempting to wash the feeling of sickness that he had currently circulating through his system as well as he could.

* * *

><p><strong>An. Okay, I lied. I think I might be Re-Vamping the whole story, or at least half of it….the part from where Arthur and Gwen are in the thunderstorm as still ok and I think a little before that…not quite sure, OH. And the part where he's flying Bertie, although it's all being re-done :)**

**Apologies for errors and the such! **

**Cookies x**


	4. 4

Being as he had nothing to do now he was allowed to wander around, Arthur decided to go on a hack with his horse through the countryside. His massive part Shire stallion, Danali seemed happy to see him again and nuzzled him for treats of which, Arthur brought out a carrot from the feed-bin as he took up his saddle and bridle and looked at it. It really needed a clean but he didn't have enough time right now, and he wondered whether one of the stablehands would be lovely enough to tidy it up. He supposed, judging by the cleanliness of the other saddles and bridles in the room, they were worried about cleaning his incase he shouted at them and this made him laugh softly to himself. The last time he actually rode the stallion himself was at least a week ago, and it was in the indoor arena practicing Dressage.

But now, this was a time for him to be free and not have the stress of the RAF weighing on his shoulders, so he decided he would run wild and go for a cross country style hack. Giving Danali a stroke on his slightly roman muzzle, he threw the saddle and numnah over the stallion's broad back and pulled the girth up before adjusting his stirrups at least four holes upwards and letting them hang down so he could mount up a little more easily. Strapping on Danali's bell boots, he glanced into the stable next to him, he noticed that Splash, Gwen's horse, wasn't in there chomping away at his hay, and judging by the lack of noise from the arena, she too was out on the downs. He smiled as he pushed the Tom Thumb bit into Danali's mouth before sliding the cheekpieces behind the noseband and doing it, and the throatlash up. Once he saw everything was done (he had brushed Danali beforehand) he put his hands into his riding gloves, pushed the velvet riding hat on his head and made sure that his body protector was securely on before leading his seventeen hand high horse out into the courtyard of the stable block.

Danali was a curious looking horse, inheriting the slightly curved roman nose of his sire, Indigo Liquor and the delicate structure of his dam, Flutterby's Melody who were both highly prized blood-lines. Arthur smiled as he mounted up, Danali moving restlessly beneath his weight as he moved forwards in the comfortable saddle, bending down to re-do his girth and stirrup leathers before he was satisfied, placed his whip in his left hand, gathered up the reins and nudged the horse beneath him into a canter, sitting back at he launched forward to settle the het-up horse. Once they were calmed down, he made his way through the courtyard, saluting to the men and woman who parted in the crowd and gave cheery waves to see Arthur cantering through on his famous stallion, having apparently recovered from his recent injury. To be brutally honest, it was still aching as he moved in time with the gentle rocking-horse canter of Danali, giving warning twinges of pain as they moved along. He shook it away and moved Danali slightly to the left, making sure they did a gentle lap of the field they were currently going through before he let his horse loose, which usually ended up as an exhilarating ride through the country, Danali dripping with sweat and Arthur's spirit's high.

Moving around to face the first jump, he saw another horse and rider standing a little way ahead. The person riding waved at him cheerily and, even in mid gallop, Arthur released his hand and waved back, a smile across his face as Danali snorted and shook his head in excitement, his huge Shire horse strides swallowing up the ground, hindquarters pushing him forward as his speed increased. Arthur had to check him back slightly and count his strides into the jump for, if they went to fast, they could potentially mess up the whole jump and Danali crash and fall, maybe even killing himself if he broke his neck. The seemingly huge brush jump looked easily enough as Arthur looked down as they cleared it, Danali swishing his tail as if to say

"That was easy!" before shaking his head, the bit jangling as he attempted to speed up again. Arthur knew it wasn't good to let your horse gallop towards a jump, but it was his horse and he enjoyed going flat out and then collecting him up again. Besides, both he and his horse needed to brush the cobwebs out of their minds and to feel free again before they were both subjected to their equally boring lives. Danali gave a high spirited buck to try and make his rider loosen the reins but Arthur resisted for once, cantering past Gwen who was sat on Splash, a russet bay horse with a perfectly pulled mane, two white socks and a stripe down his nose

"Want to have a go?" he asked and Gwen laughed  
>"Splash will go crazy!" she said before looking at Danali who was currently attempting to bronco so that Arthur would let him go "Especially with the influence your horse is creating!" she added cheekily and Arthur pulled a face<p>

"Believe me, Danali will calm-" he was cut off as Danali twisted in mid air and bucked again "Down once there's another horse following him" he said casually as he handled the stallion beneath him. Gwen looked doubtful but gathered up Splash's reins and turned him to her left to push him into a gentle canter, her heart racing. She didn't know how wild Splash would be if Danali's took off but she trusted Arthur. Kind of.

True to his word, Danali, once Splash was next to him, calmed down dramatically, and stopped trying to buck his rider off, settling into a nice, gentle canter besides the slightly smaller horse beside him, standing at sixteen two.

"I'd try and take the second jump at a flat out gallop" Arthur said breezily, swapping his whip over to his other hand and sitting in time with the canter. Gwen, once again looked frightened

"A gallop?" she asked "Are you mad?"

Arthur shook his head

"It's good because they can judge the striding themselves" he explained and let the reins loosen considerably, before turning to Gwen, and pushing away the idea not to tell her that Splash had a strong chance of tripping if he rushed too fast "Keep a firm grasp on the reins, but loosen until he can move his head up and down" he instructed. Gwen did as she was told and followed Arthur's lead, for as soon as Splash was let loose, he was off, his thoroughbred strides powering his up, and over the wide ditch and brush obstacle. Gwen stood up in the stirrups and laughed aloud as her horse soared over the jump confidently after Danali, following him cheerfully as if they did this everyday of their lives. Before she knew it, Splash had caught up with Danali and Arthur looked at her before sticking his tongue out

"Trying to overtake?" he asked and Gwen shook her head

"No, but I bet I can!" she shouted back her words whipped away by the wind. Arthur stuck his hand out in the gap between them

"I bet you a fiver!" he retaliated and Gwen pried her own off Splash's neckstrap to shake it when everything went wrong.

As soon as Gwen's grip on the reins and neckstrap loosened, fate seemed to want to play dirty with her, and forced a fat, waddling pheasant out from the undergrowth, squawking and flapping it's wings in agitation. Splash, who was completely separate from Danali who was currently bucking again, attempting to get back to his new friend, rolled his eyes backwards, letting out a shriek of fright as he reared up in the air, his front hooves flailing out to try and assault the chubby bird that was still running around like it had been beheaded. As soon as Gwen realized what was happened, her hands frantically searched for the neckstrap or a chunk of the mane. But alas, the bit of leather had slipped underneath the pommel of the saddle, and Splash's dark mane was pulled so neatly and shortly, that it just slipped through her grip completely, sending her falling backwards onto the slippy ground, a loud crack signaling that her hat had probably broken, and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She gasped for air as she laid there, her body protector restricting her ability to do so as her vision cleared from the shimmering veil that had been cast over her when she landed. Her blood ran cold as she watched her horse rear up again, the whites of his eyes showing, nostrils flared, his clarion call to challenge the pheasant ringing in her ears and she moved backwards, the ground preventing her from doing so as she was on a slight upwards hill.

There was a petrified scream from someone as Splash, a 227 pound horse, reared up again before loosing his balance and moving his hooves on the slick grass, sliding like a beginner on ice skates, attempting to re-gain his footing before he fell backwards. The scream echoed again in Gwen's ears as the horse completely gave up and allowed his full body weight to crash backwards onto her. It was only then that she realized the petrified, frantic, unnerving screams were being issued from her own chest that was currently aching painfully from the amount of beats her heart was producing. She watched in terror as Splash kicked out with his front legs again, realizing that she was behind him. But it was all lost. And Gwen closed her eyes as she waited for the terrible snapping and cracking as her bones were shattered within her, the awful gasping for air as her veins and arteries ripped, consequently ending her life.

But it never came.

Instead, someone wrapped their warm arms around her waist and yanked, a little gently than the word suggests, her out from Splash's current tumbling path just as he flattened the tufty bits of grass that lay there. He stared unseeingly up at the sky for a second before giving a shaky snort and clambering to his feet, placing each on tentatively on the ground before sticking his nose up in the air and cantering off to find Danali, who was currently a little way away. Gwen just cried bitterly, releasing all of her feelings over the past ten years into thick, salty tears that stung her eyes whilst Arthur wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, as if he could protect her from anything else that destiny might fling their way.

**A/n this one is a bit better than the last, and I prefer it to be fairly honest! I gave up on writing long chapters and decided to stick to a basic chapter series…I hope it's going well for the re-readers out there!**

**Cookies x**


	5. 5

She had, with the help of Merlin and Morgana, finally recovered from the shock of what had happened up in the cross country course. Although, Morgana found out before anyone had even told her.

"You little sneak!" Gwen shouted in amusement, snatching her diary away from her friend's hands. Morgana stuck her tongue out sideways

"Shouldn't leave it on the kitchen table then" she retorted and Gwen scowled before re-placing the lid on the golden syrup tin. Morgana looked at her friend curiously

"Is it true then?" she asked and Gwen's heart went slightly cooler than usual.

"Is what true?" she replied as casually as she could

"That you nearly got crushed underneath Splash?" she asked gently and Gwen bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears from that day that were threatening to sting her eyes again. She nodded slowly

"Yees, but I think I've got over it" she replied cheerfully. Morgana could see, from the expression held on Gwen's apprehensive features that she wasn't over it. Not one, measly, minuscule, minute bit.

"Get the syrup and Nutella out, Guinevere. I'll call Merlin" she ordered, stomping into the living room and whipping up the home phone. Gwen looked bewildered but did it anyway, and the next thing she knew, she was sat, in front of her friends with a big tin of Nutella and golden syrup being forced to tell the story. And then she felt much better, so much better in fact, that she devoured a whole tin of the sticky, gooey, golden concoction in a night, with Morgana and Merlin sharing the Nutella between them, occasionally dipping a bar of Cadbury's original into it (For dear Merlin had a nut allergy and therefore couldn't eat the fruit and nut that Gwen and Morgana so loved) Although, there was one thing, that Morgana spilled that kind of dampened the mood.

"Oh, and Arthur's been forced to go away, I'm afraid, guys" she blurted out; completely hysterical on the fact that she had just fed some Nutella to Gwen's cat. Her two friends sobered up immidiatley

"Pardon?" Merlin asked, rubbing his ears to make sure he had heard right "I swear he's just recovered from a bullet injury" he said savagely and Morgana shrugged

"He wanted to go, said he needed to get out of the house and see Bertie again. Whoever the bloody hell that is" she murmured before she lost her fight to stay awake and collapsed onto the floor, snoring gently. Gwen and Merlin just looked worried. Not only for the fact that Morgana seemed to get drunk on Nutella, but also for the future heir of Camelot.

* * *

><p>"Morning, sire" a man with dark, short hair greeted Arthur as he entered the territory of the Royal Air Force down in Bayard's Kingdom. So far, this was the only King that Uther had not fallen out with, and currently the main base for the RAF. Arthur shook his head and flicked the man's aviators up off his eyes<p>

"You do know, Lancelot, that you don't have to call me that" he said genuinely and the dark brown of his friends eyes shimmered with mirth

"I know, but according to Gwen, it gets on your nerves" he replied, winking and slamming the door shut behind the Prince. Arthur made a face

"She's going to be sorry for that" he muttered and Lance laughed

"I can text her if you want" he replied and Arthur waved a hand airily

"I'll tell her in six months time" he replied and walked side-by-side with Lance along to the changing rooms.

Arthur admired Bertie with a grin across his face, the sleek, grey F15 silhouetted against the setting sun, lined up on the two mile long runway, littered with small men who, at the moment, looked like tiny ants in the distance, waving bright, neon flags as other jets took off to join the aircraft carrier that was currently sailing placidly through the Atlantic Ocean a little way off the Camelot Coastline. He looked fondly at the jet that had stuck with him for over eight years, eight years since his recruitment at the RAF, and eight years since he had first met Bertie, one of his dearest friends. If it didn't sound rather pathetic to say that. Next to Bertie sat Lulabelle, currently stationary before they warmed them up and took off, taking a short flight until they reached their destination. And next to her, stood Gwaine, Percival, and Lancelot's jets, Jemima, Olivia and Katie, part of the Prince's close circle of friends. It was traditional to have your jet named after a woman, but to Arthur, Bertie suited the streamlined aircraft, and he couldn't see it being any other name, not even a female name. Gwaine strolled casually up to Arthur before shoving something in his hand, looking rather sober for once. Arthur looked at Gwaine with curiosity before moving the small item around in his palm.

"And this is?" he asked and Gwaine smirked

"I finally found something that the Princess doesn't know about" he said gleefully and Arthur scowled

"Don't call me that" he bit back and Gwaine laughed heartily

"It's a flare, for when you're in trouble" he explained "You also, have attached to there, a Water Buoy, which inflates in water so it doesn't sink. They've given us three each. But I thought we would only need one, so I left the other two in the locker" he said and Arthur looked approvingly at the object before glancing at Gwaine who stood, slightly shadowed by Bertie's wing

"Do you expect us to crash into the white cliffs of Dover or something?" he asked and Gwaine laughed again

"No, but it's just incase" he said and Arthur nodded before the steward told them it was time to warm up the jets.

* * *

><p>Gwen and Morgana were currently gazing across the setting sun of Camelot, standing on her balcony, able to see the aircraft carrier in the distance<p>

"What's the point, of going all the way inland to Bayard's kingdom?" Gwen asked and Morgana smiled

"That's where the aircraft hanger is stationed" she explained before pointing out to the ship that looked still "They go there and warm the jet's up, then take a small flight out to the carrier where it then takes them to wherever they're meant to go I suppose" she told Gwen who nodded in understanding. Morgana held up a finger suddenly, a goofy grin resembling Merlin's across her face "I've found out something" she said and looking inside her room, she found the small slip of paper from her brother

_Morgana. For the fifth and final time, I'm not going to do your chores and Bertie is my jet! Just look out for an F15, his name is imprinted on the underside_

"Why were you trying to get him to do your chores?" she laughed and Morgana smirked

"He hurt me so I thought if I whined then he might do them. But he managed to weasel out of it" she said and sighed before glancing over the sea again

"So look out for an F15?" Gwen asked and Morgana nodded

"You'll see them before you can hear them" she explained "As you know, light travels faster than sound" she said and Gwen nodded before swinging her legs over the side of the balcony to await the flyover of Arthur and his regiment along with many other people that were milling in the courtyard below

* * *

><p>Arthur laughed in delight as Bertie took off from the runway, his aerodynamic frame gliding through the wind effortlessly, over the kingdom of Bayard, from where he could see people waving to him and his comrades as they passed through. Glancing sideways, he gave a small salute to Leon who was grinning madly as the intercom system sprung into life<p>

"Long time since this has happened" he told the others happily and Arthur smiled

"It is" he replied, blinking slightly as he gazed out over the countryside again "I can't remember the last time I actually flew the old boy" he said fondly, patting the dashboard of the plane as he pressed a row of buttons that immidiatley lit up small, blinking lights above his head. Checking the radar, he could distinguish the small red blips that were him, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival, moving steadily through the green lines.

"The old boy" Lance laughed "There goes Arthur getting all mushy! Hope Gwen doesn't do that on you" he said and there was a small squeak "Whoops, sorry. I wasn't meant to say that" he said and from Lance's direction, they could hear him muttering curses underneath his breath. Arthur raised an eyebrow at that comment and the blood rushed to his face but decided not to ponder on it because he realized that they were slightly off track

"A little over to the left, boys" he said and almost immidiatley, they all dipped their left wings so they curved towards their intended destination.

There was a little silence after the exhilarating feeling of taking off, and Arthur couldn't help but gaze out at the countryside, which was gradually becoming more and more populated as they entered the borders between Camelot and Bayard's land. There was a sharp buzz in Arthur's ears and then the frightened, frantic voice of Lance

"Arthur! We're being followed! And it isn't good news!" he called down the intercom and glancing at the radar, Arthur could, indeed see three more marks on the screen, all flashing furiously to tell them that they were not friendly. He immidiatley pulled himself out of his dazed state and into action as he slowly pulled a level towards his body

"I think we might be able to out-fly them if we start now, guys" he said to the others, trying to sound as calm as he could "Full power ahead" he added before stopping the lever as Bertie leapt forward like Danali had the other day, gliding through the thin air effortlessly. Twisting around in the cockpit, he glanced out of the thick, triple glazed glass to be greeted by four planes of his own kind, and three that were definitely not good news.

"Arthur! They've set off heat seeking missiles! One's heading for you!" Leon shouted madly and Arthur shot his gaze back at the radar to see an extra three blips in addition to the seven that they already had, two of them aiming towards Lance and Percival and smartly twisting their jets around to try and get them away.

"Try and get them off your tail!" Arthur yelled back and twisted Bertie into a nose-dive, plummeting towards the ground and through the swirling cumulus clouds, now in full sight of the castle of Camelot, the white walls rising majestically with the Pendragon flag at three quarter mast to tell everyone that only two of the Pendragon's were currently in occupation. There was a frantic beep from the radar as the missile edged closer to Bertie's tail and Arthur increased the speed, unfortunately, increasing the G-force that he was currently undergoing, causing him to briefly black out before he realized where he was. Glancing downwards, he could see the port of Camelot, the green waves lapping gently at the stone walls, milling with spectators who were all craning their necks to glance up at the planes which were currently going crazy, one of them doing nose dives and spinning through the air, followed by what looked like a thin tube. Arthur spoke through the intercom to ask what had happened whilst going downwards again before pulling Bertie's nose up before they crashed into the icy depths of the water, so close to the sea that Arthur could actually see his reflection in the water.

"The other missiles and planes have gone, Arthur!" Gwaine replied worriedly "Where are you?" he added, and Arthur knew Gwaine hadn't thought of looking at his radar.

"I'm being chased by the last one!" Arthur shouted back in frustration as he yanked Bertie's nose upwards, pressing him up vertically into the sky, twisting around as he went "And by the looks of it, the manufacturers of this missile have done a pretty good job!" he shouted in frustration

"Arthur, stay where you are! We're coming to get you!" Lance cried and Arthur laughed despite the situation

"Two options for that Lance! Stay where I am and get blown up, or stay where I am and fall out of the sky! I don't want either of them!" he replied.

He looked at the radar again and saw that the missile was edging closer and closer to his right wing, threatening to tear it into a million pieces if it collided with him, and he didn't want that to happen. Timing the opportunity, Arthur twisted Bertie sharply to the left in an attempt to loose the missile. But alas, it was too well built and too flexible to be off-put by such a manoeuver and simply swept in a wide, curving arc, tailing Arthur's jet to such an extent, he almost gave up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his home looming in the distance and remembered he was literally there this morning. And he was distracted for too long because the missile finally met its intended target and ripped through Bertie's right wing with such force that bits of his jet flew everywhere, even so far inland that it reached the citizens who screamed in terror. Arthur was petrified as he heard the cries of his comrade as the lights failed inside his cockpit, the sickening feeling as Bertie slowly lost height and the bright orange of the flames that were licking across the surface of the wing as it plummeted to the sea below with Arthur unable to do anything about it.

* * *

><p>Gwen and Morgana were watching the jet's fly across the sky in wonder. Morgana had pointed Bertie out and Gwen had observed in delight as Arthur maneouvered Bertie across the sunset.<p>

"Morgana"

"Yes"

"What's following Bertie?" Gwen asked and Morgana stood up on the balcony, observing the scene in hand. They watched as Arthur frantically spun his jet around in the sky, nose diving to the ocean before pulling up so violently that Morgana thought that he might stall the engines and fall back. Her emerald green eyes narrowed as she watched her brother pull stunts to the crowds delight. But she knew it wasn't a stunt, and she knew what was following him now.

"Oh my god" she whispered, placing a trembling hand to her mouth as she watched the small object advance on the jet

"Morgana, what's wrong?" Gwen asked gently, placing a hand on her friends shoulder. She was silent for a few seconds before she replied

"That isn't another jet, Gwen. That's a missile" she whispered before everyone screamed in terror as the small tube ripped through the wing of Bertie, sending the shrapnel flying into the ocean and the crowds. Morgana and Gwen were panicking and terrified as flames burst into life on the broken wing and the way it slowly dipped to its right side before falling so slowly, they thought it would never end. And then a tremendous splash told them that Arthur Pendragon's plane had fallen to the sea, and with a quick scan of the sky, with him along with it.

* * *

><p><strong>An. I'm sorry. I lost the other part to this and I had to re-write this one completely like the cross country one… vair sorry to you guys who preferred the last one. The next one should be the same slightly, but with twists!(:**

**Apologies for silly little errors x**

**Cookies x**


	6. 6

The moment of impact that happened within seconds was so forceful that the strapping holding Arthur into place snapped apart, allowing him to fall through the cold water. He opened his blue eyes wildly, the salt stinging the back of them as he spun around, now free to swim around and back to the surface, holding his breath in with effort. He hadn't had time to take one last gulp of oxygen before Bertie crashed into the Ocean. It was so far away as he forced himself to swim upwards, the surface glimmering delightfully just out of his reach as his lungs started to collapse and water ran through his mouth, the circle of iron enclosing his throat and mind slowly, his vision fading into a black haze. He through it was all gone as he pushed frantically up through the cold water with his arms leaden and heavy as he tried to reach the surface. The moment he drew breath was like two feelings at once. The first one was pain as the cold air sliced through his throat like a knife through butter, causing him to choke in the water, the fluid that he had inhaled falling back into the deep depths that surrounded him. The other feeling was relief that he was still alive and breathing. Looking back into the water he could just about see his jet falling somberly to the depths of the ocean, never to be found again, drifting silently and quietly until it would finally reach the sandy floor. Arthur shook his wet blonde hair out of his eyes and felt a pang of sadness as he watched his jet disappear. He had been with it for over three years, and now to see it going, it was a little bid saddening. Arthur raised his stiff neck, having got whiplash from the crash landing and looked around him, pushing himself around in the water with his cold hands. There was nothing in sight as he cast a look in front of him, seeing nothing but the endless sea. He reached into the leg pocket of his flight suit and pulled out a small red object. It had thankfully been protected enough as the jet connected with the water and was only slightly damp. He thanked god that there was some bright spark out there that had created waterproof objects. He was slowly getting colder as he bobbed about in the icy waters of the Atlantic and his fingers and toes were slightly going numb, his eyes drawing closer together as he let off the potentially life saving flare into the sky. It let of a bright red smoke and rose to the height he had been flying at before dropping back to the ocean. Arthur sighed whilst shivering and forced himself to start swimming to allow the blood to circulate around his body. He had no clue where he was headed but he just hoped someone would see the red smoke and find him before he slipped away.

* * *

><p>Gwaine wouldn't utter one word after he watched his friend, close comrade and officer fall to the Ocean never to be seen again. Silent tears dripped down his face as he flew on, the salty taste making him let the tears flow even more as he thought of Arthur dying in the salty waters with his plane. It was hard for him to concentrate enough of flying let alone talk. Leon and Lancelot tried to comfort him, but Gwaine could hear the pain in their own voices as they tried to hold back their own tears. Percival didn't say anything as usual and Gwaine understood. There was a long silence as they all mourned the sudden loss and Gwaine's eyes kept flicking at the radar that now only beheld four jets instead of five. He didn't know how he would cope with himself after this flight. Arthur was like a brother to him and the others, not just their officer and loosing him was so tragic even though they were not relations, which brought him to Merlin, Morgana, Gwen and Uther. He didn't know how they would cope, although it might be easier for them because they hadn't watched him fall to his death with his own jet, saluting them one last time and uttering the words<p>

"It's been nice flying with you guys" before he was never to be seen again. That just teared their hearts apart even Percival had silent tears running down his cheeks, the first one's he had let fall for over eight years. They knew they were coming close to the carrier as they could see the distinctive British emblem flying high on the mast the held it up. It was sad to think there would only be four landing today, the one pilot and plane that they all felt hope seeing in the sky now lying together at the bottom of the Ocean.

"Okay, Lancelot, you go first, the Gwaine then you, Percy. I'll follow in last and Ar…" Leon trailed off as he started to say their comrade's name to land. He swallowed the lump in his throat and allowed Lancelot to fly in down to the carrier, making sure the tailhook was lowered to snag on the wires running across the carriers deck. Leon watched him lower down and drop to the deck, the hook catching the wire as he went, slowing the jet down. It was a little while until the all landed and as soon as he got out of Lulabelle, he was surrounded by a hoard of cadets demanding to know where their commanding officer was. Being second in command if Arthur went, they knew he was the one to ask. There was a lump in Leon's throat as he looked at them all and said the fateful words that would certify his friend was gone

"Arthur's plane was caught with a heat seeking missile fired by enemy aircraft which are now gone, only eighteen miles off the carrier. He went down with Bertie. He's gone" he said hoarsely, tears threatening to leak out of his eyes as he recalled the moment when the shrapnel of Arthur's right wing ricoched off the cockpit of Lulabelle, the engine plummeting to the ocean, closely followed by Arthur. It was too much to take in and walking into the main ship with the three others who were equally as depressed, he allowed glistening tears to fall from his eyes. They dripped onto Leon's own dog tag and he searched his pocket for the one that beheld Arthur's detail;

_**Arthur Pendragon**_

_**11/3/89**_

_**Officer**_

_**756658**_

_**A**_

He sighed deeply. And held it in his gloved hand tightly, turning into the changing rooms where they slumped on the bench.

"I can't believe it" Gwaine said quietly, running his fingers through his hair and looking at the floor. Leon didn't say a word but just looked at Arthur's spare dog tag, the one he had made just so that if he went they had something of him. He had also made others, one for each of all five of them. It was all too real as he let his helmet fall to the floor. He got up and threw his fist into the metal locker violently, the door buckling underneath the immense and sudden pressure applied to it

"It should've been me!" he shouted, resting his forehead to the cold metal.

"Leon…there was nothing we could do" Lancelot said quietly, his voice holding pain that they all felt, brown eyes wide and unhappy, wondering how Gwen would fair. He knew that they were holding something special, even before the relationship had started to kick off. Leon just clutched the dog tag until it cut through the leather and into his hand, allowing scarlet blood to drip onto the metal.

"We could've helped him, given out lives for his…. He's would've been the future King, he was head of the RAF...we let him go to his death…" he said sorrowfully, sighing deeply and closing his eyes, blocking out the scene around him.

"Leon, there was seriously nothing we could've done. Those heat seeking missiles lock themselves onto a target and pursue it endlessly until they are down. We didn't have a chance of helping Arthur" Percival exploded suddenly, his usually quiet temper overwhelming him. Leon looked around, shocked at the outburst, but seeing Percival's face brought him to his senses. It was bright red and there were unknown tears glittering in his eyes. Leon knew his friend was right, there was seriously nothing they could've done to help Arthur. Even flying in the path of the missile would have ended with Arthur's jet going down. And it could've cost another death in the process. They were just about to get changed into their other clothes when there was a sudden clatter as the door was thrown open with force and a young female cadet, Evie came rushing into the room, her face happy and her usually well behaved, pinned up hair swinging around her shoulders.

"Evie?" Leon cried out in shock as the girls wide expression. "What are you doing in here? It's out of bounds!" he cried at her, but Evie's expression was a mixture of excitement and horror which made him stop and stare. The other three did the same

"Sir! It him!" she shouted, pulling at Leon's arm frantically. Leon slowed Evie down, bending slightly to stare into her eye level. Evie's eyes were full of hope and a glittering, overwhelming excitement that seed to be passed onto Leon who suddenly felt his heart eating twice as fast as usual.

"Who is?"

"Prince Arthur!"

"What about him?" Lancelot said sorrowfully and a little coldly, his voice hard. Evie turned on him, her voice getting higher in excitement

"He's been found! They've brought him aboard deck! He's alive!" she squealed, running out of the room, her brown hair swinging around her shoulders. There was a brief moment where the four men exchanged glances before they all ran after the cadet in a whirlwind of hope, happiness and future.

Arthur was freezing as he was pulled out of the Atlantic Ocean. The cool temperatures that had surrounded his unmoving body had slowly got the better of him as he slipped into unconsciousness. He was having trouble breathing as he heard shouts and calls. The next thing he knew were warm hands pulling his body out of the water and two fingers pressed against his neck, checking for his pulse. Then he heard the familiar voice of Leon shouting about him and he was slowly pulled onto a boiling hot deck where he felt relaxed and calm. He knew where he was and he wasn't going to give up the fight just yet.

**Sooooo? What do you think? (: I'm not sure how to continue this to be quite honest and there will be much more ARWEN soon…. Just as soon as he's transferred to a hospital in the British Kingdom. (: Reviews appreciated**

**Cookies x:)x**


	7. 7

And then, he was lying in a room that smelt rather disgusting. A mixture of disinfectant and chocolate, the latter making his stomach lurch rather horridly as he lay in a remarkably warm bed, his head still pounding rather painfully. His ribs felt like they had been cracked in half as did his jaw, for some reason unbeknown to him really, because as far as he could remember, he couldn't recall hitting his face on anything apart from water. He attempted to move his mouth and felt excruciating pain spread up the left side, forcing him to stop immidiatley for fear of hurting it even more. He blinked in the bright white light that cast eerie shadows upon the walls and he was then aware of the beeping sound that told him he was in the hospital. The blip was in time with every beat of his heart and as he sighed deeply, it increased slightly before settling down again. He moved his hand up to his head and sunk down slightly as he ran his hand through his hair before gently moving his index finger across the bridge of his nose to try and work out how long he had been here. It didn't come to him and glancing around, the sight of the room suggested a long time. There were cards, small items, his RAF dog tags, the used flare and water buoy, a picture that was in his flying jacket pocket at the time, and a lot and lot of chocolate. He glanced down at the foot of the bed and drew back with shock as he saw a black and white dog nestled at his feet, curled in a small ball, his long tail wrapped over his nose that quivered slightly before opening a pair of dark brown eyes that had a stark resemblance to Guinevere's own pair It got up, stretched slightly before trotting over to Arthur and butting him in the hand for affection. Arthur smiled genuinely, the simple reaction causing a sharp pain in his jaw again, but he carried on nevertheless and his fingers found a small dog tag on his brown leather collar

_Bertie_

_Arthur Pendragon_

_Camelot Castle_

His heart swelled at the sight of the name and a pricking sensation overwhelmed his eyes as he stared at the dog who was looking up at him with what looked like sympathy before he settled down again now next to Arthur, his contented snores distracting the boy from the feelings that he was currently bottling up inside of him. He sighed again, placed a hand to his forehead that was rather hot and laid backwards in the bed, gazing out of the window to be greeted by a night that was so velvety black Arthur could have mistaken it to be in a picture-book for three year olds, crunchy with glittering stars. He smiled again despite the twinges as he settled back down into a sleep that finally rested his exhausted mind and body.

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><p>"I told you!" Merlin whispered excitedly gesturing towards Arthur who was now fast asleep; his hand settled on Bertie's curled up form. Gwen and Morgana cautiously entered the room that smelt so wonderfully like chocolate, it was hard enough for them not to eat Arthur's small gifts before gazing at the Prince who was now relaxed with a small smile on his face<p>

"He doesn't look any different to me" Gwen replied and Merlin grinned

"You don't know how powerful my magic is" he said back cheerfully and Morgana looked at him with red eyes

"And that's meant to mean?"

"I enchanted Bertie to wake up when Arthur does. And now that the dog is up there when he was on the foot of the bed means that Arthur must have woken up in the middle of last night" he said excitedly and Gwen smiled at Merlin's amazing plan.

"And it worked I guess" Gwen said, walking over to Arthur along with his sister and Merlin who all watched over the dog and Prince with relief

"Why does he always do it?" Morgana asked as they sank into the three lounge chairs that had been put in the room. Merlin and Gwen looked confused

"Why does he always do what?" Merlin asked and Morgana sniffed

"Always get himself into trouble" she replied back and Merlin giggled which set off Gwen by the sound of a giggling boy.

"That's Arthur for you I guess" he answered and breathed deeply to stop the bubbles of laughter from rising in his chest again.

"Besides" Gwen added, looking at the contented person sleeping deeply near them "It wouldn't be Arthur if he didn't do it would it?" she asked and Morgana sighed defeatedly

"I suppose not" she said, before delving into her bag and producing two tins, one for Gwen and one for her and Merlin "I couldn't smell this room without eating some chocolate for myself. And I suppose that you can't live without your syrup either" she said, drawing out three spoons, unscrewing the lid to the Nutella jar and dipping her small teaspoon into it before daintily placing it into her mouth. Merlin moaned

"Couldn't you have got tablespoons or something?" he asked and Gwen laughed as she ate some golden syrup

"But then you couldn't savour the taste!" she replied, using her tongue to lick the sticky substance off the metal spoon before dipping it back into the pot.

"I don't know how you three managed to eat such grotesque stuff" said a voice, and all three of them whipped around to see the face of Arthur, wide awake, slightly pale but wearing a disgusted expression. Gwen was the first to try to speak, but having a mouthful of syrup it came out muffled

"Awfur!" she said and he raised an eyebrow as Bertie wagged his tail happily. Merlin and Morgana were also halfway through their Nutella so he waited for a second before Gwen could speak again

"Arthur!" she repeated happily and Arthur nodded looking like he was about to throw up

"Again, I don't know how you can eat that-" he was cut off as his sister launched herself at him excitedly

"YOU'RE ALIVE" she screamed and Arthur looked bewildered

"I am speaking to you am I not?" he asked confusedly and Gwen laughed

"She's been worried sick since the time you crashed and that was like three weeks ago" Gwen explained and a pair of blue eyes widened

"You're joking. Three weeks?" he exclaimed and Gwen nodded

"The doctors said you had severe pneumonia and your body had shut itself down to recover. You don't know how many visitors you've received" she said and nodded sympathetically at Arthur expression. Morgana released herself from Arthur and looked at him with a bizarre expression on her face before going back to her seat, still staring at her brother who was wearing an equally interesting one

"You know" she said after a while "Some people smell atrocious when they've been unconscious, but there something about Arthur that he manages to maintain the smell of Lynx Excite even when not aware" she said distantly, her eyes narrowed and lips in a pout. Her brother looked a bit disturbed at that statment

"Did I really want to know that?" he asked and Morgana shook herself out of her revive

"No, probably not, but believe me. My friends have said that some people reek after unconsciousness and you don't. You still smell nice" she said and Arthur couldn't contain a chuckle

"Well I really appreciate that, sis" he said and settled backwards again, absent mindedly stroking the head of Bertie again.

"Are the other's alright?" Arthur asked after a while and there was a snort from Merlin as he choked on a spoonful of chocolate spread.

"Sorry?" he asked and Arthur echoed his own question "Yes! In fact" he replied and Arthur turned his exhausted gaze on the boy "They all came to see how you were, and they all were crying. Come to think of it, we all were. Even your father was" he said quietly and Gwen and Morgana nodded in agreement.

"So people do care" he murmured and there was a small sound of nail against metal and something gooey was running down Arthur's face. He looked at Gwen in mock outrage

"You dare throw golden syrup at me?" he asked proudly and Gwen stuck out her tongue before placing another teaspoon in her mouth

"Serves you right you prat! Of course everyone cares for you! You're the bloody prince!" Merlin exclaimed as she took another spoonful and placing the top on the Nutella tin much to Morgana's dismay. Arthur muttered something incoherent under his breath before placing a hand up to his jawline and wincing.

"I'm all sticky now" he moaned and Gwen sighed

"I'll go and get something to clean it up" she said before disappearing out of the room. Merlin and Morgana bent closer to each other as Arthur attempted to wipe the golden syrup off his face

"How long do you think it'll be?" she asked and Merlin thought deeply, tapping his forehead with his index finger

"I think next year" he replied and Morgana shook her head

"I think when he's twenty six" she objected and Merlin shrugged

"We'll see how destiny wants' to play it's game then" he said and Morgana nodded, a smile playing at her lips.

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><p><strong>An Yet another small chapter! But I really don't want to bore you guys, so I think it might be small chapters from now on :) Thank you for reading! **

**Cookies x**


	8. 8

Arthur was allowed to be discharged at least eight days later. He had reluctantly agreed to stay in after the doctors explained he had suffered fractures to his spine from the impact of the crash and they wanted to make sure he was alright before he was allowed to roam around again. He had become a little hot headed towards visitors, but had otherwise been the perfect patient, Bertie keeping him calm throughout the whole ordeal along with the help of Merlin, Morgana and Gwen. He had also received visits from Lance, Gwaine, Leon and Percival who had accepted the fact that his hearing was a bit sensitive but had thrown a non-alcoholic quiet party for him anyway. It then turned out Gwaine had been sober for over three months to prove to his aunt that he could stay off the alcohol for more than a month, and had received a new car for it.

"So it all turned out well for you?" Arthur asked him and he nodded

"Well, I am still tetchy about no alcohol, but I'm going to see how long I can keep off, she promised me a new camera too" he said and nodded seriously. Leon and the others laughed

"I never knew you were into photography, Gwaine!" Lance exclaimed and Gwaine made a wry smile pass across his lips

"Well, everyone has their secret passions…" he replied than shot a covert look at Arthur who looked utterly perplexed

"What?" he asked and Gwaine look smug

"It looks like we found out before Princess did" he said gleefully and Arthur glowered

"I told you. Do not call me that" he hissed and Gwaine just grinned at Arthur's furious expression and ability not to do anything about it.

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><p>"How high have you jumped on Splash?" Arthur asked Gwen as he sat on the hospital bed waiting for his father to arrive. Gwen shrugged<p>

"Not very high to be honest- he gets to fizzy so I'd say about one foot six" she admitted and then waved as Morgana entered the hospital and scanned the room.

"Do you want to try out Puissance when we get back then?" he queried and Gwen looked at him curiously as she got up

"What's Puissance?" she asked and Arthur smiled

"It's basically where the brick wall get's higher and higher until you want to pull out or your horse refuses twice. You jump a small fence that stays at the same height before jumping the wall" he said and Gwen instantly plastered on that fearful expression that Arthur had come to find rather adorable

"How high does it get to?" she asked quietly and Arthur shrugged

"Depends how high your horse can jump and whether you can cope with it" he said calmly and Gwen made a face

"Have you ever tried it?" she asked and Arthur nodded

"Never beaten the world record though, that's about eight foot high" he said seriously and smirked when Gwen looked terrified "But don't worry, we'll go up to about four foot if you can stand it" he said, pushing himself off the bed and walking toward Morgana who was currently asking the receptionist if she had a pot of Nutella at hand. Gwen looked doubtfully at Arthur before following him out of the hospital.

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><p>It was at least three days after they had arrived back at Camelot and Gwen was currently in the arena warming her horse up, legs already aching with the amount she had used them to move into a particular corner that her horse had found terrifying.<p>

"We can do this Splash" Gwen whispered, patting him on his arched neck gently, looping her fingers around the reins as she rose in time to his trot and checking her diagonal. Realizing that she was sitting at the wrong time, she sat for to beats before posting again and glancing up at the auditorium in the vast stone school, she groaned inwardly. It was typical for Merlin and Morgana to allow spectators in whilst they were doing something that she would no doubt fail at and glancing a look at them, she saw they were watching her like a pair of hawks eyeing up their prey. She sighed deeply to settle not only her nerves, but also Splash, who was getting restless and made him lift his legs up in an extended trot as they turned a twenty meter circle near "C" whilst she counted the beats as they rounded the corner, gathering up her reins and pushing him into an extended canter up the long side of the arena, correcting his canter lead with a flying change, before making him throw his legs forward and engage his hindquarters so that he looked like he was bouncing rather than just going along like a slug. She moved Splash around in another circle before asking him to collect his canter and move towards the small rising oxer that was placed slightly off center to the foreboding Puissance wall that was currently at not even a foot high. Merlin and Morgana were sitting on the sidelines, waiting for Arthur to arrive and warm up before they started, observing Gwen as she worked her beautiful gelding around the arena with apparent grace, managing to perform movements that they hadn't ever seen Arthur do, which Morgana suspected he had, but in private.

Splash moved forward eagerly as he saw the jump and Gwen was forced to pull the bit backward to slow him down so she could count the strides in his bouncy canter before they popped over it as if there wasn't one there. There was a round of applause from Merlin and Morgana and Gwen laughed

"It wasn't that good" she told them seriously and Merlin shrugged

"If I got on him then I wouldn't stay on for more than a second" he told her and she laughed again before turning him around on his haunches to pop over the warm up fence again.

"Oh, here comes the supposedly amazing horse-rider" Morgana called across the arena as Arthur closed the gate behind him and stuck his tongue out

"I'm a damn sight better than you are, Morgana!" he called back before sliding the stirrups down the freshly cleaned leathers (He had done it himself when Uther had denied his request of riding immidiatley) and mounting up, receiving a buck as a retort. Arthur patted Danali on the neck

"Still up to your old tricks are we boy?" he murmured as he adjusted the girth and placed the whip in his left hand. Danali snorted and shook his head, the tinkle of the bit echoing in the school before he moved forward at Arthur's tap of the heels. Morgana watched with Merlin, her eyes shimmering in the light cast by the floodlights.

"It'll be interesting to see how good he actually is" she said wondrously as she followed Arthur and Danali. He was currently settling himself into the saddle, adjusting his stirrups and reins and moving his body about to get himself comfortable before he started officially.

"You mean to say you've never watched him ride before?" Merlin asked incredulously and Morgana shook her head

"Never been my thing to do" she said and Merlin chuckled

"You'll be pleasantly surprised then" he said before turning his attention back to Arthur who had moved into a sitting trot and was glancing down at Danali's neck ever so slightly before nudging him sideways across the arena so that he crossed his fetlocks in a delicate action, his neck arched and bent, snorting as he went.

"Half pass" Merlin murmured as he then launched into a canter, before nudging Danali in his stomach slightly so that he swapped legs in mid-air looking like a school girl skipping "Flying change" he explained and Morgana looked at Merlin

"How do you know all of this?" she asked and Merlin laughed

"Arthur's been hammering it into my head since he first started riding" he replied and they both watched as he pushed his stallion into a collected canter, producing the elegant flying changes at least five times in a row.

"He's a show off!" Morgana whispered and Merlin laughed

"Everyone who rides horses are; my father was too" he replied as Arthur looked up at Gwen who was patiently waiting in the centre of the school, looking up at the roof that was being hammered with rain, making peculiar noises in the school. Splash was fidgeting underneath her agitatedly, nose in the air as his eyes rolled backwards in his head, annoyed by the noise

"Have you taken him over the oxer?" Arthur asked, moving Danali in another perfectly executed pirouette. Gwen nodded

"Twice either way" she said, shortening her reins again and Arthur turned to look at Merlin and Morgana  
>"Could you possibly add another four layers of bricks to the wall?" he asked politely and they nodded, pushing themselves up off the sandy floor to go and raise the wall to one foot six<p>

"If you take Splash over the oxer then over the wall, it shouldn't be too high" he said and Gwen nodded, pushing Splash around on his hindquarters to get a straight line.

Merlin and Morgana watched Gwen as she fidgeted around in the saddle, her face a mask on concentration as she urged Splash into a bouncy canter with her seat, moving her hands forward as her horse launched over the first jump and then towards the Puissance wall that was slightly lower. He seemed to look like he was enjoying it and gave a high spirited buck in retaliation to Gwen's gentle tap with the whip. Arthur meanwhile was occupied with Danali who seemed to have pulled up lame. He diagnosed it as a stone bruise that he had probably picked up from the huge stone that had mysteriously appeared in the middle of the arena.

"Splash!" she hissed, tugging on the reins as he bucked again, even harder this time, throwing her forward onto his neck, making her struggle to control him. Looping her hand around the neckstrap for safety, she leant forward as he reared up, her heart pounding in worry as she recalled the day she fell off before Splash landed heavily and kicked off with his hind feet again, throwing his hindquarters in the air five times in a row, planting his nose to the ground in frustration as if he was trying to get Gwen off his back. There was a tremendous crack of thunder that echoed across the arena and Morgana, Merlin and Arthur exchanged concerned glances, at a loss of what to do with the het-up horse who was wild-eyed, screaming his whinny in terror, nostrils flared, muscles quivering and coat sweating with fright.

"He's scared-" Gwen started, gritting her teeth as he bucked again, throwing her whole body forwards onto his neck, making her shunt backwards in worry as he pecked at the floor again "Of the thunder and rain!" she cried, grasping a hold of the neckstrap again as he launched onto his hindquarters and started to throw his feet around in the air "He doesn't-" another buck "Like it!" she finished, her heart in her mouth as he clasped the bit between his teeth and started to twist and turn around on the stop before rearing again and bolting towards the gate that held them in

"Splash!" she said again, trying to twist him around. Her hand went instinctively forward to try and grasp the bit of his French link, attempting to turn him sideways before everything jolted her out of her senses, and she felt the cold rain on her skin as Splash galloped away into the depths of the thunderstorm with her unable to control him.

* * *

><p>Arthur looked concerned as he threw the tack onto another horse called Theron who looked a little confused as to why his sleep was being interrupted. Arthur slipped the snaffle bit into the part Shire part Thoroughbred gelding before patting him on his cheek and doing up the noseband and throatlash<p>

"Sorry, boy" he apologized as he cinched the girth up another hole and started to do his stirrups "But there's someone out in the thunderstorm that we need to rescue and you're the first option I thought of" he said, unbolting the stable door and mounting up on top of him as Theron snorted in understanding agreement. The stablehand attending to Danali stuck his head out of the door

"Sire! Should I get anything for when you come back?" he asked hurriedly and Arthur stopped for a brief moment and thought

"Could you get Danali, Theron, Splash and Jupiter's stable rugs please? Put Theron and Splash's on when we get back but use the other two for Gwen" he said and the stablehand nodded "Oh, and something warm for her to drink" he added and another brief shake of the head came from the dark haired helper before Arthur dug his spurs into Theron's sides and he launched himself out into the night.

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><p><strong>An Another chapter that got deleted by my laptop -_- Hope it's okay(:**

**Apologies for errors :) **

**Cookies x**


	9. 9

Theron pushed his weight up the steep slope through the battering rain willingly, knowing that the quicker they found the person they were looking for, the happier Arthur would be and the quicker he could get back to his snooze. The freezing sheets of water drenched both horse and rider as they battle against it to look for the lost and terrified Gwen who, knowing her, had managed to slow down Splash and was about to head on collide with them. But as he looked through the fat drops of liquid, he couldn't see her at all, and nudging Theron in the stomach so spur him into a gallop on the flat, his heart was pounding against his ribcage and the rain crashed in time with the thunder and lighting streaking the sky angrily, lighting up the dark night every so often with an ear-splitting boom. Theron whinnied suddenly in warning and in the midst of a lightning strike, Arthur could see the silhouette of Gwen's horse, now calm as he stood protectively over a still figure on the muddy ground.

"Splash!" Arthur yelled into the night and the horse replied, his whinny reverberating through his body as he shifted slightly, protecting Gwen from the rain that was now falling diagonally.

Nudging Theron on down the slope, they half trotted and half slid towards the horse and rider before Arthur leapt off, narrowly avoiding collapsing on the floor from the shock he had just put his body through. He then slowly knelt beneath the dripping stomach of Splash and pressed his fingers to Gwen's cool neck and sighed in relief when he realized that she was fine. As he knelt there, attempting to revive her, he felt like he was suddenly very hot. He blinked rashly and gently shook Gwen on the shoulder wondering whether it would wake her up with the rain hammering down on them both, making Arthur shiver again.

"Gwen" he whispered, his throat closing up from the chill spreading over his body, softened by the magically magnified thunder that echoed around them in the night "Gwen please" he said weakly, trying not to succumb to the darkness that was once again taking over his sight. When he realized it wasn't going to work, he picked her gently up and staggered up to the forest, tugging once on the reins of both horses that followed him obligingly and without hesitation . Placing Gwen down on the floor he turned to Theron, staring at him intently with suffering blue eyes

"I need you to go back and lead them back up here boy. I don't have the strength to take her by foot" he said tiredly and Theron snorted his understanding, turned around on his hooves and galloped off into the night. Arthur slumped down next to Gwen and sighed heavily before checking her over to make sure that she wasn't injured. Splash nuzzled his hand almost in reassurance and Arthur smiled feebly at the sign of affection before taking off his coat and wrapping it around Gwen's shivering frame, thanking god that it was waterproof. He then thought of something ingenious and sliding Splash's saddle off his back he took off the sheepskin numnah, placing it underneath the first layer of protection to add a bit more warmth to the freezing girl. In the middle of the darkness, he wondered how she had fallen unconscious and was half expecting her to awake and shout "BOO" rather loudly. But all she did was shift so that her head was resting on his shoulder and continue to stay silent. Arthur gently placed a hand against her forehead and was quietly relieved that she wasn't ill, which was how he felt again, something that he had been feeling for a while ever since he had been shot. Smiling gently he found her hand beneath his coat and gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure her if she could feel and recognize that small gesture of affection, that help was on it's way.

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><p>Merlin and Morgana had arrived back at the stableyard to a missing Theron, a stablehand, and a horse that was currently trying to mow him over to get outside to his master. Gaius, the King and a few others were in tow and with one quick scan of the yard their reactions were not good<p>

"Where is he?" Uther asked the stablehand who's name was Jack. He looked ashamed and hung his head

"He left about twenty minutes ago, sire" he admitted and Gaius raised a hand to his head to try and think things out. Uther looked furious as he paced around, and the horde of people cautiously stepped out of the way of the annoyed royal.

"Leon," he said abruptly to a familiar face in the crowd "Gwaine" he said to another and they stepped forwards "I need you to tack up Martino, and Aquilino please. Your coming with me" he said, entering the tack room and gathering up his own horses equipment. He pulled of Anbessa's rug and threw the saddle on his back hurriedly before sliding the bit into his mouth whilst a startled Gaius looked on at him.

"Sire! You can't go out there! It'll be suicide! What if one of the horses falls?" he asked and Uther fixed him with a steely glare

"It's my son, Gaius and I'll be damned if I'm leaving him out there" he replied curtly, fixing his hat onto his head with a small "click". Gaius looked as if he was about to say something, his mouth half open when there was the distinguishable sound of frantic metal horseshoes against concrete and a shrill whinny that sent everyone running into the pouring rain. Leon and Gwaine hadn't even tacked up yet as they thrust the saddles and bridles into Jack's hands, consequently making him collapse at the weight and ran outside to be greeted by Theron, who was drenched, startled, rearing and riderless.

"JACK!" Leon shouted "Jack! Who was riding Theron?" he demanded and the stablehand looked concerned at the shaking horse who was refusing to be caught

"Prince Arthur was" he said quickly and Uther inhaled sharply as he got a hold the reins of the horse finally and soothed him down, thinking quickly

"Leon, take Anbessa, Gwaine, tack up as fast as you can. I have a feeling Arthur sent Theron back here" he murmured and there were two short, quick bows from the two officers before they went inside to tack up and take out their horses.

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><p>Arthur began to think they were never coming, his body shaking uncontrollably from the cold whilst Gwen recovered slowly but surely. It was like re-living the incident with Bertie all over again, where he was probably sat in Arthur's room at this moment, curled up snugly in his basket with a nice bowl of food…no. Need to stay focused. Arthur shook himself into reality again and out of the sleepiness and started to move his eyes around to stop himself from falling into unconsciousness again, staring at the darkness in one area for a minute before moving it again. Splash was shifting about, his ears pricked in the air for sounds of approaching people and this reassured Arthur and he soon let his eyes close, his head fell sideways and his grip loosen on Gwen's hand. The clarion call let out by Splash that made his whole body shake seemed like a gentle nicker to him as he fell into a relaxing sleep, a small smile etched onto his face as he did so.<p>

* * *

><p>Uther was beginning to get frantic as Theron galloped up past the cross country course, thinking the horse was leading them on a wild goose chase. Gwaine and Leon were directly behind him, unable to see anything in the darkness apart from when the sky was lit up by the streaks of lighting in the sky, following the hoofbeats. They suddenly stopped next to a ditch fence and Theron let out a shrill whinny that echoed in the night, creating an eerie feeling for the three riders. Uther gave him a slight nudge with the heels to try and get him to move again, but the horse wouldn't budge and let out another call that was suddenly answered as loudly and worriedly as Theron's own. As the lighting lit up the sky, the outline of a horse amidst the towering trees of the Camelot forest became visible and Theron launched forward, powering himself up the steep slope regardless of the fact that it was running with water, was very muddy and awfully slippery. The two other riders followed hastily after the King and the horse, the horses beneath them sliding around like they were on ice, snorting with exertion at they attempted to follow the more powerful gelding up ahead.<p>

Once they were within the shelter of the tree's, Gwaine fished his torch out of his pocket and trained it around the midst of trees and when he let it lay in front of them where Splash stood protectively over Gwen and Arthur, all three of them inhaled in shock. Gwen looked none the worse for wear, and for once neither did Arthur, but he was dreadfully pale again, his breathing and pulse were alright, but as Uther went up to his drenched son, he could tell by the burning feeling of his forehead that he was, once again, running an awful fever. Gwen was fine, but they would have to make sure that was true when they got back. Uther managed to pick his sleeping son up off the muddy ground, realizing how heavy he had got since he last held him in his arms, which had to be when he was about ten and fell off his first pony, Pepper, cracking his head open rather badly that he spent two months in the hospital, and mounted up on Theron who was laid down on the floor to allow him to swing his leg over the saddle more easily. Leon caught hold of Gwen, mounted up on Anbessa and they rode back towards the castle with Gwaine leading Splash along, heart in their mouths as the thunderstorm raged overhead.

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><p><strong>An was this one alright? I have a feeling it was worse than the previous version, but I kind of prefer this one (;**

**Apologies for errors x**

**Cookies x**


	10. 10

Gwen awoke with one of the worst headaches she could ever remember in her entire life. It was even worse when Morgana once forced her to drink pure Russian Vodka sent from Russia by the Russian Ambassador, who was now dead from the shooting's earlier on in the month. She placed a hand to her warm forehead to relieve the pain that was throbbing behind her eyes and as she opened them, she gathered that she wasn't out on the muddy cross country course anymore. It wasn't anywhere she had been before and where she was situated was rather elaborate with an arched ceiling not unlike Arthur's room, grey flagstone floors and a warm, chugging fireplace that made her smile as it created a heat that radiated into her body. Turning her head towards the wide French windows, she suddenly gathered where she was, for with the curtains pulled back she could gaze outside and it was a still dismal which told Gwen the thunderstorm was at it's peak seeming as the sky was flashing with bright white lighting every so often, followed by endless cracks of thunder that echoed in her ears as she lay where she was. She could also hear the crash of the waves in the harbour as the tides and storm affected them, rebounding on the stone jetty and port and being folded back over to be sucked out and forced back in again at great speeds. Gwen shivered slightly despite the fact she was safe and blinked at the horrible weather before turning her attention to the clock on the side table to see what the time was. The gentle tick settled her headache and she felt herself falling back to sleep as she stared at the moving hands. It surprised her that it was only two o'clock in the morning, and that meant that she had been out in the thunderstorm for quite a long time since Splash took off with her. She sighed deeply and wondered how she had got here, was it Arthur? Did someone else find her? Or was this all a dream? There were so many questions in her mind that she couldn't think straight and had to calm herself down by sighing and turning her head toward the window again. She stared at the weather again and saw the water sluicing down the window panes and overflowing from the gutters in great sheets, the patterns they cast mesmerizing Gwen's mind to such an extent she had to close them to relieve the dizziness it was causing her. She soon found herself falling back to sleep with the pain subsiding in her head at long last whilst she dreamt of things that sent her into her own world.

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><p><strong>An I think this is the only chapter that's been pretty much the same! Hope it wasn't too boring (:**

**Cookies x**


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